Retainer and tubular latch housing



June 22, 1965 E. L. SCHLAGE 3,190,683

RETAINER AND TUBULAR LATCH HOUSING Filed Feb. 7. 1963 INVENTOR. [PA 57 4. 5094465 M w/dz United States Patent 3,190,683 RETAINER AM) TUBULAR LATCH HOUSING Ernest L. Schlage, Burlingame, Calif., assignor to Schlage Lock Company Filed Feb. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 256,851 3 Claims. (Cl. 292-337) My invention relates to means useful in mounting lock sets and particularly the latch units thereof in doors, especially in wooden doors. It is customary to provide a lock unit for a door with the latch housing in tubular configuration occupying one bore and detachably engaging the actuator housing carrying the actuating knobs and disposed in a cross bore through the door. The latch bolt housing is mounted in the door with the latch bolt positioned and aligned by means of a rectangular face plate received in a recess in the door edge. Screws pass through openings in the latch plate and enter into the material of the door to hold the latch housing firmly in position so that the bevelled face of the latch bolt will meet the strike plate evenly.

In some instances the latch bolt housing has a circular face plate mounted on the door edge. This makes it difficult to position or align the latch bolt surfaces properly and makes it diflicult to mount the latch housing firmly. In the event the latch bolt is not properly mounted at the first try, it properly.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a retainer and tubular latch housing to ensure that the latch housing can be properly and permanently mounted and that the latch bolt is correctly oriented.

Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer readily usable with latch housings of the usual type to adapt them for use in doors without the necessity of employing rectangular face plates and screws.

Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer and tubular latch housing in which a firm and permanent installation can readily be made with ordinary tools and by the ordinary mechanic.

Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer and tubular latch housing that can easily be manufactured and will not add substantially to the cost of manufacture or service.

Other objects of the invention together with the foregoing are attained in the embodiment of the invention described in the accompanying description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross section on a vertical central plane through a portion of a door containing a lock unit with a tubular latch housing and retainer in engagement pursuant to the invention, the retainer being shown in cross section;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the door edge indicating different rotary orientations of the tubular latch housing;

FIGURE 3 is a cross section on a horizontal median plane through the door of FIGURE 1 showing the retainer and tubular latch housing in plan and as mounted therein, the actuator unit being omitted;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevation of a tubular latch housing with the retainer of the invention mounted thereon; and

FIGURE 5 is an exploded, isometric view showing a tubular latch housing with the retainer of the invention axially displaced therefrom.

While the tubular latch housing and retainer pursuant to the invention can be embodied in a number of diiferent forms, a successful commercial embodiment is as illustrated herein. In the customary environment there is provided a door 6 usually of wood or comparable material having opposite sides 7 and 8 and having an edge 9 which it is difficult to remove it and to reposition 3,190,683 Patented June 22, 1965 may be straight or bevelled or inclined as shown in FIG- URE 3. There is a cross bore 11 extending entirely through the door to receive the actuator portion 12 of a complete lock unit and there is also provided a bore 13 intersecting the bore 11 and having an axis 14 intersecting the center 16 of the bore 11.

Disposed within the bore 13 is a nearly standard tubular latch housing 21 having projections 23 designed laterally to interengage with lips 24 of the lock unit 12. Extending from the latch housing is a member 26 designed to be engaged laterally with other mechanism 27 for actuation. Connected to the member 26 and translatable in the tubular latch housing along the axis 14 is a latch bolt 31. This has a planar face 32 and an inclined face 33 and is movable from its fully extended position as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3 into a depressed position within the housing 21.

In the preferred case, the latch housing is a metal formation having a tubular exterior surface'34 of substantially uniform diameter and approximately of the same length as the bore 13, although somewhat smaller in diameter for the most part. Adjacent the end near the projecting latch bolt 31, the housing 21 is enlarged to form a somewhat conical flange 36 having a larger outside diameter slightly greater than that of the bore 13 and having a smaller outside diameter slightly less than that of the bore 13. The transition surface 37 between the outer and inner diameters of the flange is approximately conical, although preferably the outer corner 38 is rounded or faired. The configuration of the face 39 (FIGURE 2) of the flange is such as to accommodate the corresponding surfaces of the latch bolt so that the two are relatively nonrotatable or are constrained againstrelative rotation.

The tubular latch housing 21 is largely surrounded or encompassed by a sleeve 41. This is conveniently made of a strip of springy material such as spring steel curled into a nearly complete circular cylinder. An axial split 42 or slit extends from one end to the other. The length of the sleeve 41 is virtually the same as that of the tubular latch housing. At one end the sleeve lies near a shoulder 43 on the flange 36, which restrains the sleeve against undue axial movement in one direction. The sleeve is restrained against undue axial movement in the other direction by appropriate means. In the present case, this restraining means takes the form of a number of staked abutments 44 evenly spaced around the periphery of the housing. In the normal unconfined condition of the sleeve, the springiness and the normal width of the split 42 are such that the sleeve is freely rotatable about the axis 14 on the latch housing as a loose bearing.

Means are provided for inhibiting or preventing movement of the sleeve and so of the latch housing relative to the door in one axial direction while permitting substantially free relative movement in the other axial direction. Formed integrally with the sleeve are fingers 46. These are conveniently cut from the material of the sleeve on their side edges 47 and 48 and on an end edge 49. The fingers are then bent away or upwardly from the body of the sleeve so that they are inclined outwardly and toward the latch end of the housing. The intersection of the sides 47 and 48 with the end edge 49 provides sharp corners 51 and 52. The edges themselves, such as the edge 49, are quite sharp due to normal manufacturing processes. The sleeve can be slightly expanded and slipped endwise over the abutments 44 to contract and lodge between the abutments and the shoulder 43.

With a sleeve in position, the latch housing is easily installed. The staked end is started within the exterior entrance of the bore 13 and then is forced home by movement in the direction of the arrow 53 in FIGURE 3. During installation the springy fingers and their sharp edges and corners ride over the wood 46 yield slightly fibers without any particular difliculty. The sleeve itself may contract somewhat. As the latch housing comes close to its final position, the latch bolt can be carefully examined and rotated from any incorrect position, arbitrarily represented by the axis 56 in FIGURE 2, into a correct upright position represented by the axis 57 in FIG- URE 2. The constriction of the sleeve as the fingers engage with the bore 13 is not sufficient to bind the rotary movement of the latch housing within the sleeve. The latch housing is well supported and is rotated evenly and without being cocked or canted since the sleeve 41 is substantially the same length as the housing and as the bore 13. An evenly cushioned or yielding support is provided uniformly throughout the length of the sleeve. In order to enhance this distributed and uniform support, it is preferred to stagger the fingers 46 in their locations as shown in FIGURES 3 and 5.

When the sleeve and the latch housing are nearly in installed position and the housing has been, if necessary, rotated into its proper upright condition, then final installation pressure is exerted against the flange 36 sufficient to drive the conical flange as far as possible into the wood. Since the large diameter of the flange is somewhat greater than the diameter of the bore 13, any rough wood edges are smoothed and masked by the final seating of the flange 36. Since the flange may project somewhat, particularly when the door is bevelled as shown in FIGURE 3, the rounded outer rim of the flange provides a suitable finish which will not catch or otherwise interfere with passing objects.

When the latch housing has been installed as indicated and is substantially in its final position, then the actuator portion 12 can be introduced into the cross bore 11 and a suitable interrelationship of the parts effected for operation.

If at any time force is exerted on the latch housing tending to dislodge it, the sharp edges and corners of the fingers bite into or are pressed farther into the wood and act as sprags to resist or inhibit dislodging movement. There is always some outward force urging the fingers into the wood due to the expansive resiliency of the sleeve and while this permits inward movement, it resists and is augmented by outward force. A firm installation is the result.

What is claimed is:

1. A retainer for a tubular latch housing adapted to be received in a bore in a door comprising a sleeve encompassing and extending for substantially the full length of said latch housing, said sleeve being rotatable on said housing, a plurality of teeth outstanding from said sleeve at spaced points around said sleeve and at spaced points along said sleeve, said teeth being disposed at an inclination to slide readily in said bore in one direction and to engage the material of said door and prevent sliding in said bore in the other direction, and means for limiting the relative endwise movement of said sleeve and said latch housing. 1

2. A retainer and tubular latch housing comprising a latch housing having an elongated tubular portion, a flange at one end of said tubular portion, abutments upstanding from another part of said tubular portion near the other end thereof, and a slit sleeve rotatably mounted on said tubular portion and extening between and in substantial contact with said flange and said abutments, and sprags outstanding from said sleeve at diflerent points along the length thereof and forming springy supports for said housing throughout substantially its entire length.

3. An article of manufacture for use with a tubular latch housing of predetermined length comprising a longitudinally split sleeve of springy material having a length nearly as great as said predetermined length and having projections outstanding from different points spaced apart around and along the sleeve, said projections having free side and end edges defining fingers all directed toward one end of said sleeve.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 494,510 3/93 Murphy. 3,006,675 10/61 Erickson 292-337 3,030,287 6/62 Agron et al. 3,055,691 9/62 Kessel 292-337 M. HENSON WOOD, 1a., Primary Examiner. 

3. AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE FOR USE WITH A TUBULAR LATCH HOUSING OF PREDETERMINED LENGTH COMPRISING A LONGITUDINALLY SPLIT SLEEVE OF SPRINGY MATERIAL HAVING A LENGTH NEARLY AS GREAT AS SAID PREDETERMINED LENGTH AND HAVING PROJECTIONS OUTSTANDING FROM DIFFERENT POINTS SPACED APART AROUND AND ALONG THE SLEEVE, SAID PROJECTIONS HAVING FREE SIDE AND END EDGES DEFINING FINGERS ALL DIRECTED TOWARD ONE END OF SAID SLEEVE. 